Guyana: Caught in Brazil's Net?; Small Nation, New to Free Markets, Fears Loss of Its Identity

Shirley Melville, owner of the main watering hole in this dusty border outpost, seemed perplexed. Just why do her patrons prefer Antarctica beer, imported from Brazil, over domestically brewed Banks Beer, at half the price?

''It's all about status,'' said Ms. Melville, 40, standing in the doorway of Don & Shirley's Airport Cafe overlooking Lethem's small airstrip. ''In Guyana, anything coming from Brazil is seen as superior, even if it isn't.''

Brazil, the giant of South America with perhaps 170 million people, is busy flexing its economic muscle these days, pressing forward with policies aimed at strengthening ties with its neighbors.

And Guyana, nestled on Brazil's northern flank, with a population of 700,000 and port access to the Caribbean, is squarely on its radar screen. So it should be no surprise that the allure of Brazilian goods has penetrated even to this village of 2,000, a stone's throw from the Guyanese-Brazilian border.

There is no more vivid symbol of Brazil's increased presence in the region -- and the concern it arouses -- than the heavy equipment that is paving the 60-mile road between Boa Vista, a state capital in northern Brazil, and Lethem.

''There's this fear Guyana will be slurped up when that road is completed,'' said Nick Sellitto, an American who owns a business that exports organic produce from Guyana. ''But I don't see that happening any time soon, given the prehistoric, isolationist thinking of the Guyanese government.''

After nearly three decades of inward-looking, socialist-inspired development policies, Guyana is starting to open its economy to investment in areas like timber cutting and mining.

Many other people, however, are convinced that Guyana is about to be drawn into Brazil's orbit. Vehicles making the two-and-a-half-hour trip today tend to be sturdy trucks transporting Brazilian miners over the border into Lethem, where they board small propeller planes headed for gold mines in the interior of Guyana or Suriname, to the east.

''It is the draw of riches,'' said Valdemir Costa Machado, 36, a miner from the Brazilian state of Maranhao, as he waited for his flight here. ''The only problem is that there are too many of us Brazilians coming in.''

There are about 10,000 Brazilians living in Guyana who chose to stay after their stint in the mines has ended, the government says. In Dutch-speaking Suriname, the number of Brazilians is estimated at 40,000, nearly 10 percent of the population.

''We run the risk of becoming a kind of adjunct to Brazil,'' The Stabroek News, Guyana's leading paper, said in a recent editorial. ''If we are not to be swallowed up and lose our distinctive identity, among other things, then we will have to devise policies and strategies which will allow us to maintain an authentic independent voice in the company of giants.''

The road from Boa Vista is not likely to remain the domain of adventurous gold miners for long. In a year or two it should be completely paved, making way for all manner of vehicles including air-conditioned passenger buses and small cars.

A similar road project linking northern Brazil with Venezuela led traffic to increase almost tenfold between those countries in the last two years. In southern Brazil, improved transportation links helped make possible the creation of Mercosur, the trading bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

In Guyana, though, roads remain precarious, effectively limiting stronger commercial ties with Brazil. For example, the road between Lethem and Georgetown, Guyana's capital and largest city, is unpaved.

For Mr. Sellitto and others who depend on that route for their livelihood, this means they must travel in vehicles like Land Rovers or old army-issue British-built Bedford trucks. The trip can take two or three days, depending on the weather.

Many of these vehicles date to the days before Guyana gained independence from Britain in 1966 -- an illustration of the effect more than two decades of isolationist policies can have on an economy.

''It's the 'Mad Max' effect,'' said Peter McLachlan, a resident of Lethem who drives a 38-year-old Land Rover, referring to the 1980 film in which rival factions in a post-apocalyptic world drive vehicles held together with any material available. ''Guyana is a surreal country, and probably no part of it is as surreal as here.''

Indeed, much of Lethem seems as if time had frozen for 20 or 30 years. Most of the village's residents -- mainly Indians from the Macushi and Wapishana tribes -- get around on foot or by bicycle. With the exception of limited commerce taking place over the border, the economy is largely based on hammock-weaving and the cultivation of cassava.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

Charred, decaying buildings near the airstrip still show signs of the government's reaction to an uprising by local ranchers in 1969, when Lethem was little more than the administrative center for a large cattle-ranching operation. After exiling the ranchers to Brazil and Venezuela, the army burned every structure to the ground.

Looks can be deceiving, though, for while Lethem, and much of Guyana's economy, might show the effects of socialist experiments from the 1960's through the mid-80's, the country has introduced several market-driven initiatives since 1992, when a government was elected that favored opening Guyana to foreign investment.

The privatization of companies like Guyana Airways and Guyana Telephone and Telegraph, in addition to awarding concessions to foreign concerns to mine for gold or cut timber, have resulted in inflows of investment from abroad.

Another important foreign project, a satellite-launching facility to be operated by Beal Aerospace of Frisco, Tex., near Dallas, which would take advantage of Guyana's location near the Equator, is nearing government approval.

From 1993 through 1997, the economy grew for five consecutive years -- more than 40 percent over all -- before contracting slightly in 1998, largely because of falling gold prices. In 1999, the economy grew nearly 3 percent, and this year 5 percent growth is forecast.

''We're making up for lost time,'' Moses Nagamootoo, Guyana's information minister, said in an interview in Georgetown.

Indeed, the trappings of a modern economy are more evident in the capital, where cellular phones and sport utility vehicles imported from rich industrial countries are common.

In Lethem, by contrast, basic telephone service by satellite hookup was initiated just two years ago. People in the interior use short-wave radios as their main communication tool.

''I can't wait until mobile phone service arrives in Bom Fim,'' Mr. McLachlan said, referring to the Brazilian community across the river from Lethem. ''If towers are installed allowing us to have cells here, I'll be among the first to sign up.''

While Guyana has slowly opened itself to foreign investment, trade with Brazil remains minuscule.

Neither Brazil nor Venezuela, Guyana's other big neighbor, is among its leading trading partners -- outranked by such countries as the Netherlands Antilles, Canada, the United States and Japan, according to United States government figures. Not everyone sees sense in this.

''It is retrograde that we don't have more contact with Brazil,'' said Gerald Gouveia, owner of Roraima Airways, whose regular flight between Boa Vista and Georgetown, begun only recently, had to be discontinued for lack of demand.

For its part, Brazil, in addition to paving the road to the border, is making overtures toward forming a stronger commercial relationship with Guyana.

In Boa Vista, the state government of Roraima offered to help cover some of the costs for a Guyanese consulate. And business interests have approached Guyana's government with plans to improve the road to Georgetown, in addition to port installations there.

''We're listening to the offers because we're not satisfied with our current levels of foreign investment,'' said Mr. Nagamootoo, the information minister. ''But we're cautious, because we still have that British ethos from being an English-speaking colony and having cultural and historical links to the Caribbean.''

In Lethem, local authorities are also wary of stronger ties with Brazil. ''I'm concerned of the effect a better road will have on our unique indigenous culture,'' said Muacir Baretto, a Macushi Indian who is the district chairman of the administrative region surrounding Lethem -- a position comparable in some ways to a governor in the United States.

For many of the village's people, though, this sort of thinking is beside the point, given the allure that migrating to Brazil already holds.

''In Brazil, I can work as a maid and make a little money to send to my children,'' said Joyce Clement, a 37-year-old member of the Wapishana tribe. ''I love my country, but it can't offer me that opportunity.''

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports,
and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.

A version of this article appears in print on March 30, 2000, on Page C00001 of the National edition with the headline: Guyana: Caught in Brazil's Net?; Small Nation, New to Free Markets, Fears Loss of Its Identity. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe